Veiled Kaleidoscope: Musings of a Blogging Housewife: 26 Years of Combined Forces

31 July 2009

My soulmate a.k.a hubby and I had left for KLIA to take a flight to Langkawi on 31 July 2009 as hubby had to attend a meeting at Andaman.

And because we did not have any opportunity to celebrate our anniversary on 29 July 2009 (I had an appointment at HUKM which I couldn't change; and my husband had an important meeting to attend, and was not free to take leave), this trip was supposed to be a treat for me to celebrate my 26th anniversary.

And it was really a pleasant surprise for me when my husband had booked a first class airline ticket for me, despite me commenting earlier that the economy flight to Langkawi was already quite expensive. I had wanted to fly Air Asia. He brushed off my concerns by saying that it was his anniversary treat for me. Thanks Sayang.

I recalled staying at the Andaman hotel a couple of years back and recalled quite distinctly that Andaman was located at a secluded spot, actually nestled at the edge of Langkawi, far from the hotspots in Langkawi.

And true enough, the taxi driver (we later found out his name was Nordin) told us that the journey from Padang Mat Sirat (where the airport is located) is about 50 minutes to Andaman. Oh boy, I was thinking, there goes my plan to shop while my hubby slogs in his management meeting.

And as my husband knew how helpless I would be, fending for myself and given the distance to the shopping area, he decided that we go to Kuah town using the same cab driven by Nordin right after we checked in.

The interior of the hotel room - spacious and welcoming

Nordin waited for us as we checked in, and after we had changed our clothes into something more comfortable. Soon after, we left for Kuah town, the happening place in Langkawi. And for this trip to Langkawi, I had told my husband that I would like to buy a couple of household stuff which I had badly wanted before.

I had visited Langkawi many times before and the only stuff I had bought before had been chocolates. I, for one, couldn't fathom why people, especially women, go crazy whenever they are in Langkawi. And why women like to buy household stuff. At that time, I thought they were wasting their time as the same stuff could be easily bought in KL. Why bother lugging those stuff all the way from Langkawi to KL??

As it was a Friday, most of the shops were closed. But thank God, most shops in Kuah were opened. Our first stop was the mall in Kuah as I wanted to buy a digital camera.

My favourite Sony Cybershot camera had been hijacked by my daughter, Ina. And later, I was persuaded into buying a mini DSLR, another Sony brand as a replacement. But because the camera is quite bulky, and quite heavy, and also not small enough to put in my handbag, it was not convenient for me to carry it around. Hence, my excuse to buy another small digital camera. (wanna learn this trick from me????)

So, while Nordin hung around, we shopped for a camera in the mall. We were fortunate as we found a shop which is very customer-friendly. We finally settled for a Canon Digital Ixus 100 15 camera, after much haggling and deliberation. I fell in love with the red Canon. The purchase was actually a steal (as we later found out).

The price we paid was for the camera, mini tripod, camera case, and an upgraded memory card. And they even threw in a spare battery at a cheap price (RM99). The original price was RM199. Subsequent enquiries at the Langkawi airport enroute to KL found that the same camera cost the same price, but without all the add-ons. We were mighty thankful that we had bought that camera in Kuah.

And later, Nordin brought us to a row of shops (the name of the shop was Mohammed, I think), where we bought Prestige pressure cooker, two non-stick pans with cover, knives/scissors set, beautifully designed trays and coasters (I just love the trays and coasters design as they're modern, vogue and contemporary), and plenty of chocolates.

All the stuff we bought were a fraction of the prices we had to pay had we bought them in KL, especially the chocolates. So we bought lots of chocolates as the choices were aplenty.

Now I know why shoppers, especially women go berserk in Langkawi.

We later stopped by one of the stalls in the mall to have a late lunch. I bought something to eat for dinner. We actually had to rush back as my husband's meeting would commence at 8:00 p.m.

And after he left for the meeting, I was left all alone in the big spacious room. And as my husband's meeting lasted till midnight, I was deep asleep by the time he tiptoed back to the room. And it was the same the next day. His meeting lasted the entire day, with a break after 5:30 p.m and resumed after dinner.

You must be wondering what kind of an aniversary it was. Believe me, I enjoyed every minute of it. I enjoyed the solitude. I enjoyed being away from the hustle bustle of KL. I enjoyed the reprieve.

When he came back for the break, he had insisted that we go to the beach. I was quite reluctant. I was quite contented being cooped up in the room, surfing the net, and posting my blogs (at that time, I had just started blogging). But he had been adamant saying that it would be such a waste had I just spent my anniversary, whiling away in the room, facing the four walls, facing the TV and facing the laptop.

After much cajoling on his part, I finally relented. If truth be told, I'm usually extremely lazy to go out anywhere once I'm with my husband in hotels simply because I'm just too lazy to don the scarf, and have to dress up to go out... What a lame excuse!!! My husband had commented.

And boy, I did not, for one second, regretted adhering to my husband's request to take a walk with him to the beach. The pathway leading to the beach was simply awesome and the beach was breathtaking. And most of all, I enjoyed the short walk from the hotel room, walking hand in hand with my husband.

I love the lush garden with greeneries all around the hotel. It's really spectacular and magnificent.

And what was most astounding was I even managed to catch a little squirrel peeking out of the tree. It was as though it knew that I was going to take its shot and it posed for me before scurrying up the tree again.

It's a shot I'll always remember.......... Awesome!!!

And we later sat at the garden fronting the beach. I was really happy to be there - quiet surrounding, lush trees, and you can hear the waves lashing the sea, perfect atmosphere and environment for a wedding anniversary........

And I also managed to capture some splendid shots of nature. These are among my favourites.

My all-time favourite

And later we proceeded to the beach. There are very few beaches in Malaysia that can boast of clear blue water and clean white, pristine sand. I must say Langkawi is one of them.